North Park Hill

North Park Hill is overwhelmingly residential, with the brick homes that make Denver neighborhoods so nice. Unfortunately, this area was swamped under a heavy crime wave that has made it incredibly rough for old residents and small business owners. The good news is that it is making a comeback. It deserves better days.

I grew up just south of here, and for many years this spot had a bad reputation. It wasn't just North Park Hill, but in many ways this spot was the epicenter. In the 80s, LA street gangs discovered a big untapped drug market in Denver. The city was nicknamed "Little LA" and "The Big Easy" as Bloods, Crips, and other gangs swarmed in. Suddenly, the blocks to the north of us were gangland. Every few days, someone else was shot in my beloved neighborhood. Through the late 80s and early 90s, this area was part of a swath of violence that changed the face of north central Denver.

Fortunately, neighborhood residents are reclaiming their beautiful and historic neighborhoods. It has become a much safer and better place to live once again. The strip of north central blocks from Five Points running east to Quebec have quieted down, and people once again take pride and joy in these neighborhoods. It's good to see that these homes and businesses are thriving once more. North Park Hill is a good place to live, work, walk, shop, and raise families.

The Park Hill neighborhoods are a wide spectrum: locals who can have their pick of housing avoid Northeast Park Hill and drool over South Park Hill. It’s a three-bears situation: many people find that North Park Hill hits a good balance of affordability and safety. Housing ranges from plain townhomes to sprawling ranchers with high-end upgrades to tidy duplexes that accept Section 8. Construction is mostly of the post-WWII brick variety, though there are some older homes. The neighborhood is in a good location: close enough to downtown to be handy, far enough away to be quiet. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of North Park Hill, however, is that you won’t need to get in your car or on the bus to take your sweetie out for dinner (or for gelato on Fairfax). A few restaurants, shops, and such are tucked into the neighborhood, and there is another nook well worth exploring slightly to the south at 23rd and Kearney. City Park, its zoo and its science museum, are across Colorado Boulevard.

Park Hill is especially proud of its history, with some good reason. After World War II, middle-class African-American families moving into the neighborhood provoked a “white flight” response. There’s nothing exceptional about that, but what was exceptional was the counter-response by Park Hill residents, of all races, who really drew together to work for a tolerant, welcoming, and diverse Park Hill community. Though there’s nothing in particular to draw visitors here, this middle-class neighborhood is a “just right” for many people.